22 December, 2007

I know that a lot of you have been waiting for our reproduction Herse-style hangers. The final prototype just arrived by Fed Ex. They are now going into production. They will sell for around $20-$25 a pair and will also be available at wholesale prices to bike shops.

Functionally they are not a great improvement over other hangers, but they did adorn most Rene Herse bikes and many from Singer and other constructeurs. Even today they are used by Toei. And they are pretty enough to hang from your Christmas tree. How's that for bike bling?

Update: I forgot to thank Mike Barry of Mariposa, one of the world's finest constructeurs, for providing us with details, measurements, and photographs of his original RH hangers that are the basis of our reproductions. And thanks to Peter Weigle who arranged all that.

Alf, Ha! Isn't the question really, "Why do the Toei hangers cost three times as much?"

The VO hangers are made on a CNC mill in a fairly large production run (large for such an odd component). This means that once the process is figured out the machine will just keep doing it over and over with no human input, so there is little labor cost. Perhaps the others are machined by hand and made in small batches? This would mean a machinist has to "operate" the machine. But that's just speculation. I really don't know.

How well would these work when using road type levers such as Campy with traditional older or retro canti brakes? The Dia-Compe roller hangers I have been using seem to require more travel in the road levers. Those roller hangers really do look cool though.

I too wish Mike a happy retirement. I was on the list for a Mariposa bike, and they were, until yesterday, absolutely my favourite randonneur bikes in production. I'll have to try to find a used one in my size!

Those roller hangers look neat. However, I have found that with modern road levers and center-pull brakes, a regular hanger of this type doesn't give you enough cable travel. For a couple of years, I've used a Campy Ergo setup with Mafac brakes, and to amplify the cable pull I've used those really wide cable hangers often found in cyclocross. They won't win any awards for elegance, but they seem pretty much required.

Bittersweet news about Mike. He certainly deserves a long and happy retirement.

It is sad there will be no more Mariposa bicycles. Mike had an uncanny sense of proportion. His bikes are not minimalist, nor are they over adorned. Seems every bike he made had a unique touch that perfectly suited the owner.

I hope some of our fine young builders devote a lot of time studying what Mike did.

I agree with david nj about rollers (also about China - another story, especially considering our opposing political stances). I shorten the straddle cable as I can. This geometry requires more hand pressure, but reduces the required pull distance.

As someone who got their Mariposa bike last year (after the full 18 months), I am feeling pretty fortunate to have got in ahead of Mike's retirement date.

The 18-month wait drove me crazy at the time but all was forgiven when the bicycle arrived. Best of all was living in Toronto and getting to ride it home down ravine trails from Mike's Cranfield Road workshop.